


Not Fine

by thinkatory



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M, Light Angst, Post-Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-06
Updated: 2010-02-06
Packaged: 2017-10-07 01:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinkatory/pseuds/thinkatory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Alex Karev has every reason to be completely content." Implied Alex/Izzie. Written at the start of S3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Fine

It has to be the atmosphere. Alex Karev has every reason to be completely content but ever since Prom, misery has hung in the air of Seattle Grace and it's managed to get to him. At first he tried to blame the moodiness of the hospital on the synchronized periods of the women, but that theory was shot to hell when he noticed the Chief, Shepherd, and every other damn person sulking around too. No, it's Izzie. And Denny. If there ever was a haunting, forget Poltergeist, this is it.

Alex downs the rest of his coffee and lays back on the bench after the others leave, hoping to delay the inevitable cappuccino-fetching for Dr. Sloan to the very last moment. When he's an attending, Alex resolves, he'll get his own damn coffee.

… All right, so he won't, but he still doesn't want to deal with Sloan right now. He should (and is) grateful for the opportunity to work with a renowned plastic surgeon, but all he's learned so far is coffee and breast implants, both of which he learned a lot about in college, firsthand.

A locker closes. "Hi Alex," Izzie says as she breezes past him in an instant before he can even respond in any way but sitting up like a shot. He leans back to watch her gathering charts, checks his watch, and mutters a "Fuck" before going to the fifth floor to find Sloan.

She's back. She's actually back.

* * *

It might be Alex's imagination but even Sloan is looking a little subdued (for him, anyway). There's less flirting with female patients (or females in general), more professionalism, and only one bone dry capp. Alex almost feels bad for spitting in it. Almost.

"I can't believe you did that."

He could have sworn he looked to see if anyone was watching, but he looks again. It's Izzie, who was apparently behind him in line and never said a word. "You can't?" he replies with wry surprise.

"Well, he's only the best plastic surgeon from the East Coast, and you're practically identical, everyone thought you'd get along." She orders an espresso with cream (she’s with Addison today, he recognizes the order). 

Alex is truly repelled, almost too much so to speak for a moment. "Why?"

"You're both prettyboys who screw every pretty girl who's willing," she points out. "You're perfect for each other."

There are really no words for just how insulted Alex is, but he reminds himself that she _is_ his sort-of ex and he's definitely heard worse from women. "Thanks," he says, deadpan, instead of protesting further, and goes on sincerely. "Good to see you back here."

"It's good to _be_ back, thanks." An instant of silence is filled by the regular cafeteria sounds and the preparation of the espresso and cream; Izzie fixes a curious and suspicious stare on him.

"What?" he asks, to get it over with.

"Just -- you don't have to be nice to me out of pity," she says, and Alex knows this tone; it means he's about to be told off for doing something normal by someone who's crazy. "I'm fine, and I am going to be a _great_ surgeon who happens to be a millionaire, and I don’t want your pity. That's all. What?" she demands from him at his blank stare.

"What?" he demands in return. "I didn't even say anything!"

"You were _looking_ at me," she retorts. "Go back to work, I'm fine."

"You're fine," Alex agrees in surrender, but continues to search her face for signs of weakness until she's starting to get that tight-lipped look like she wants to punch him. He is too familiar with that look, so he takes a step back. "I know, yeah, okay, you're fine, you're great. Have fun with Montgomery."

He turns and leaves, not acknowledging her response or even really hearing it. He scrubs in for a nose job (somehow, Izzie guessed right) and watches Sloan swagger through the surgery. Alex had no clue you could put in an implant arrogantly, but Sloan manages.

Alex has ambiguous morals, ambiguous sexual morals especially, yeah. But he probably wouldn't sleep with a married woman, especially if he knew her husband. He would never sleep with a friend's chick and he is nothing like Sloan, not really, not a bit. Not where it matters. There's time, maybe Sloan was just like him once, but no, there's hope for him yet.

Later at Joe's, Alex's eye is set on this stacked brunette and he bravely goes in, sending a hard drink to her. Not two feet away, Izzie bursts out in half-drunken laughter at something a bewildered (and equally drunk) George has said. Alex leans on the bar and watches Izzie out of the corner of his eye, completely missing his hot brunette mark checking him out. But, no, Izzie will be Izzie and be stupidly drunk tonight and have fun with George and Meredith, being her usual incredibly-weird-but-way-too-hot self. And Alex will go to bed with that hot brunette who won't have a dead fiancee breathing down his neck and lingering over every kiss.

Someday, maybe, (hopefully) this'll change. For now, he meets the gaze of his drunken mark and goes in for the kill. He has every reason to be content; he's fine.


End file.
